


Enigma

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Marauders' Era, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-13
Updated: 2013-07-24
Packaged: 2019-01-19 20:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12417654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: I sit. I think. I itch. That's what a typical day in the purgatory I call Azkaban consist of. Mainly, though, I think. My friends, enemies, lovers, family, and life all come rushing back as I try to remember where it all went wrong. I accidentally stumbled onto where it all went right, so I might as well tell you. ...





	1. The Rift

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

**The Rift**

 

Bridget Addams. She has puzzled me since the first time I’ve ever met her. She seemed to have it all when it came to her family: Siblings that looked out for her, parents that provided for her. Bridget was always the center of attention when it came to her family. It was probably because she was the youngest, or she was just really charming (which seems to be most likely). 

 

Behind, that charm, though, was a complete resentment towards every authority figure she knew. Only two people, who were older than her, were able to get respect and admiration from her: Jack Addams, her brother, and Lucius Malfoy, of no relation to her.

 

She confided in me one night, many years ago, her biggest secret. She told me, “My mother constantly criticizes my every move. It’s so aggravating because she never has the nerve to do it in front of people outside out family.” That was the first time I saw something human in her in years. 

 

It shocked me to my very core. 

 

That’s not the point to this, though, but we shall return to that another time.

 

I remembered when we were both starting out together at Hogwarts. We both knew each other from the pureblood social scene and were friends. Until the Sorting. That was when everything changed.

 

“I’m so nervous! No one in my family’s ever been to Hogwarts, let alone heard of it!” A small girl with bright red hair said to Bridget as all of the first years waited in a chamber.

 

Bridget looked at her as if the red haired girl sprouted another leg. “Are you joking?” The other girl shook her head as we all started walking into the Great Hall. “You’re the first muggle born I’ve ever met!” Bridget grinned before falling back to where I was with another boy in our year.

 

“Hi, Sirius! Who’s your friend?” She asked me eagerly as the boy and I walked to wear the others were. 

 

I looked at the boy with messy hair, realizing that I never learned his name. We met on the train when I came into his compartment. After that, we just started talking, joking, and laughing with another first year boy like the best of friends, that we didn’t even realize that we were all strangers to each other.

 

He smirked at me before turning to Bridget. “James Potter, nice to meet you.”   
James stuck out his hand, meaning for her to shake it. _Potter, I know I heard that name somewhere before_ , I thought.

 

Bridget stared at his hand in disgust. “Oh,” She simply said before going toward the table to our right. The Hufflepuff table. I didn’t realize at the time that her older brother, Jack, was in that house. What I did realize, though, was Bridget was defiantly a pureblooded snob, something I was trying so hard not to be.

 

“Addams, Bridget!” A stern looking witch shouted over the noise of the Great Hall. 

 

I noticed, when Bridget got up to the stool, she looked like she was about to barf. If she did, it would have been the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. All her charm was gone, something people rarely see from her. 

 

I looked to the right, her brother was giving her reassuring nods as the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. She never told me what was said between her and the Sorting Hat, but I wish I knew. Perhaps the puzzle of her would be solved.

 

This went on for quite awhile. James got bored during the presentation, so he gestured toward a little, fat boy in our year and kicked him in the arse. It wasn’t a hard kick, though.

 

He yelped quietly, rubbing his large behind. When he turned around to see who kicked him, James and I tried to stop from cracking up. He looked like rat with his buck teeth and mousy features. After he turned back around, James and I laughed quietly.

 

“SLYTHERIN!” The table second from the right cheered the loudest, and Jack Addams also cheered loudly as well. I never understood why he did so. I was hoping I would get his logic when my younger brother got into Slytherin, but I booed instead. 

 

Bridget looked relieved as the stern witch took the hat off and set her off towards the Slytherin table. She sat next to Lucius Malfoy, pompous git extraordinaire.  I think that started the time of when everything between us would begin to fall apart.

 

Two more people went before my name was called. “Black, Sirius!” I strode up there.

 

The moment the hat was placed on my head it said to me, “You would make a great Slytherin like your friend there.” I scoffed. _I hate Slytherin. It’s everything I hate._ “That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t do good there. You know quite a few people there.” _So? They don’t know me._ “Hmm…GRYFFINDOR!!” 

 

I was almost as shocked as the whole Slytherin table. I saw Malfoy’s shocked open-mouthed expression and smiled. I knew that most of Slytherin was expecting me to be put in my family’s house, but I defied it. That brought me joy.

 

That joy nearly evaporated as I saw the sad look of my childhood friend. She realized that we were no longer the best of childhood friends. She saw the rift the stood between us.


	2. The Bonds Between Us

**The Bonds Between Us**

 

As the years went on, both Bridget and I went on with our lives. We made new friends, talked less often, and started to have a mutual dislike for each other. The once childhood friends were now just classmates. Outside of school, we only saw each other at parties thrown by rich snobs.

 

Apart from Bridget, my mother and I weren’t getting along too well. I never got along with her to begin with, but I held some respect for her. Whenever she had the chance, she criticized and degraded me. That respect was quickly fading, as was out relationship, if we ever had one.

 

Even though my life seemed to be losing people at the time, it was the complete opposite.

 

I quickly made friends with James and Remus, the other boy from the train. We also had Peter, which took us awhile to like. Together, we joked around and explored the school. James Potter quickly became my wing man, and I his; we were like brothers. Peter Pettigrew, I have so much to say about him, but in the early years, he was our roadie in a way, our follower. Remus Lupin was pretty fun, good for copying homework from, but we still didn’t quite know him yet.

 

Until second year. 

 

“I wonder where Remus is.” Peter said as we three attempted a Potions essay without Remus. “He’s always ill, it seems.”

 

I looked at James: Peter had a point. “You’re getting onto something, you know,” I said. “Remus is always ill once a month.”

 

James pondered everything for a moment. He suddenly stood up as if a light in his head went off. “Let’s go pay ol’ Remus a visit then!”

 

Us three then snuck to the hospital wing around 8:30 PM under the Invisibility Cloak James got from his father. I saw the sun setting, from the large windows, as well as Madam Pomfrey taking someone to the Whomping Willow. I showed James and Peter. They nodded. We were going to go after them.

 

We sprinted out the castle, and walked quietly to the grounds just in time to see Madam Pomfrey leave whoever it was at the base of the strangely still tree. It was dark when we got there.

 

“When dawn comes, come straight to the Hospital Wind! Don’t leave the Shack!” She told him before leaving. When Madam Pomfrey was back in the castle, the person took off the hood of their cloak. We suspected it was Remus, but it still shocked us to see him.

 

“You can come out now. She won’t be back.” He said, turning to our direction.

 

“How’d you know we were here?” James said while taking the cloak off of us.

 

Remus glared at the ground, clenching his fist.” You aren’t the quietest bunch.”

 

I frowned. “Why are you here, Remus? Thought you were ill.”

 

He then glared at us. “Just go! I’ll explain everything later, I promise.”

 

* * *

 

The next few days were hard. We were anxious to know everything, so we headed to the library. Normally, this wasn’t my thing, but it was for Remus. James, Peter, and I spent that Friday night in the library, looking through magical disease books. Finally, we had it.

 

When Saturday morning came, Remus still wasn’t back, so we headed to the first Quidditch game of the year: Gryffendor v. Ravenclaw. We won. After the game, we just headed to the dorm room.

 

Remus was there already. He was pacing when he came in. “Sit, sit.” He said without stopping.

 

“Remus, we know.” James said, getting straight to it.

 

Remus looked surprised. “You do?”

 

Peter nodded “Yeah, we know you’re a werewolf.”

 

Remus looked like he’d been slapped in the face. “I’ll be leaving then. I’ll get home-schooled and- “He was being an idiot.

 

“Shut up. We think it’s cool. We read up on Animagi, people who can turn into animals.” I told him, making him very confused.

 

“But I’m not an Animagus. I’m a-“For someone so smart, he was being so stupid.

 

“But we can learn to be. Illegally, of course.” James grinned as he said that.

 

Remus was dumbstruck. “Y-you damn…marauders!”

 

And the name just stuck.

 


	3. The Birth of a Sex God

**_ A/N: Hello, everyone! I'm Masquerade Madness. I apologize for not introducing myself until now. Anyway, I would like to warn you readers that this chapter contains sexual references. It's not smut, but if you are sensitive towards it, feel free to go to chapter four. Please don't be offended by the material, but if you do have a problem with it, just message me and we can try to work it out! I also love reviews; they keep me alive (not really, but they keep me writing!!) n.n _ **

** The Birth of a Sex God **

 

It would be complete bull if I told you I don’t know how I became known as a _sex god_ at Hogwarts. I remember exactly how it started, save for a few minor details. The title wasn’t coined by me; I was far from being a sex god in the beginning of my third year. I never actually encouraged it until my fourth year.

 

Hogsmeade was a place of wonder to me when I was growing up. Even though I came from a pure-blood family, the small wizarding village was the most fantastic place I had ever seen. More fantastic than horrible, disgusting, terrifying, and old Azkaban. Again, that’s not my point now.

 

My first date was at the Three Broomsticks with some Gryffindor fourth year. I know she knew James through Quidditch; they were both on the team. I think her name was Abigail. We didn’t talk much about anything. It was a bit awkward for me. Finally, I asked, “How’s Quidditch?” Things got even more awkward. She wouldn’t shut up about Quidditch.

 

Whenever I tried to get her attention, she would just keep going on and on. I saw no way out at the time, so I made one of the biggest mistakes of my teenage life. I kissed her. I wish I just walked away, as I would eventually regret that kiss a few years later. Abigail was dumbstruck, but she was also quiet. I thought I was a genius at the time for kissing her.

 

* * *

 

It was pretty cool to have a girlfriend who was older than me and on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. For a while. She was clingy and possessive. If I even looked at another girl, she’d get mad. When we snogged, she’d stop and ask if I was seeing anyone else, and whichever way I answered, she’d stalk off and not talk to me for a while. So, I broke it off with her when she asked again.

 

“So you are seeing someone else!” She said. Oh God, she just cried after that. I wanted to die.

 

I tried to reassure her, but she wouldn’t listen to me. Abigail just kept crying and sobbing. I started to feel bad, if only a little bit. “I broke up with you because you’re annoying and clingy!” I shouted over the sobs. I know that wasn’t the right choice of words, but she wouldn’t listen. After that, she was quiet again. Then came the impact. SMACK!! Her hand went across my cheek so hard I was shocked she didn’t draw blood. I couldn’t respond to it. I also didn’t respond to Abigail running out of the cupboard after calling me a jerk.

 

When I finally made it back to the common room, after cleaning up in the wash room, people just stared at me. Abigail had told her friends, who spread the story like wildfire.

 

“Sirius!” I heard from my right. It was James. He, Remus, and Peter had snagged the seats near the fire place. I sack into an armchair, still in a bit of shock.

 

“So, she hit you. I can’t say you didn’t deserve it, but it was a bit harsh.” Remus said, putting his book down.

 

I blinked. “All I did was call her annoying and clingy after breaking up with her.” What version did they hear?

 

James laughed a bit. “Really? We heard you cheated on her and told her after shagging her!”

 

I was ready to kill those harpies. “I’m going to bed.”

 

By the next morning, the whole school had heard some twisted version of the break up. It was really funny. 

 

Girls came up to me and asked if I was okay. Guys came up to give me high fives. I basked in my glory. From then on, I became known as a sex god, despite still being a virgin. My cousin, Bellatrix, once told me that I should let anything said about me be true. “No reputation is a bad reputation,” she told me. For once, I followed her advice.

 

* * *

 

Pure-blood traditions are some of the strangest traditions alive. Betrothing children at eight, house elves, and beheading house elves (I think that was just my family, though,) were some of the few that struck me the most odd. The strangest one, although most exciting, was sending your sons off to hookers.

 

It was the summer of my third year of school, same year as the Abigail incident. I was fourteen when it happened; my brother, Regulus, was thirteen. Our father, Orion, had summoned us to his study one night. That night was one of the worst teenage experiences I ever had. _The worst._

 

“Boys, as you know, when you finally become me, you’ll have to do certain…things, to please your women.” He started out, stiff as a board. I knew where this was going, but I doubt Regulus had a clue yet. This was not going to be fun.

 

“Most pure-blood families betroth their children very young. Your mother hasn’t picked the right ones yet, and I doubt she ever will. You know how she is,” Dad trailed off, dying to stay away from this awful topic.

 

Regulus, being the ever-faithful favorite son that he was, brought the topic back. “Father, you’re getting off topic.”

 

Dad coughed and cleared his throat. “Thank you, Regulus. Anyway, you two need to know how to please a woman. Therefore, I am sending you two to a brothel in the next few days. Possibly tomorrow. Good night!” With that final word, he rushed out, relieved that his job was over.

 

Regulus and I sat in silence for a while. He was as red as a tomato. I was stunned. I had heard of such a ritual from older pure-blood guys, but I thought it died out or something. Something that would have me not take part in thing inane ritual.

 

“Do you think mum knows about thing?” Regulus asked with a shaky breath, once the news began to register with him.

 

I scoffed. He was so naïve sometimes. “She probably planned the whole thing if she’s picking out wives from us.” I nearly gagged. My mother would pick somebody exactly like her. I probably would have committed myself to a loony bin if that happened.

 

* * *

 

The thought of sex excited and scared me at the same time. For obvious reasons, I won’t go into why it excited me. It scared the hell out of me, though. I had no idea what I was doing for a while.

 

Orion failed to mention to me and Regulus that we would have to visit the brothel more than once. At first, we had more experienced ladies, but after a few visits we had new, young girls.

 

The fall couldn’t have come any slower that year. For once, I was embarrassed. I felt dirty, gross, and like a man. Things were going to be different, I was sure of that. I just didn’t know how different.

 

King’s Cross was the worst. I ran into Bridget Addams, Lily Evans, and Marlene McKinnon. They were all different now. Addams was no longer the small charming girl I had known. She was older, a tad bit awkward, and less charming. I also learned why James had such a mad obsession with Lily. Marlene was kind of like the Gryffindor version of Addams, but she wasn’t painfully awkward. I had known her since first year, but in my matured mind, she was a woman. A fine woman, too.

 

When I got to the compartment where James, Remus, and Peter were, I couldn’t have been more relieved. I couldn’t tell them about my summer ritual; they would freak out if I did. So, I kept it a secret. It was the secret of my success.

 


	4. The Arrangement

** The Arrangement **

****

By the time fourth year came around, I was convinced I was a man. Third year gave me experience with girls, fathers, and little brothers. I thought I lived through it all by then, as if I ruled the world. I wasn’t prepared for what was going to happen during my fourth year of school. It all started with a certain letter.

“Dear Sirius, it has come to my attention that the Yule Ball is this year. As your mother, I hope you will choose a nice, pure-blood girl as your date. Don’t embarrass the family by taking some mud-blood whore; you’ve done enough damage!” I read out loud, imitating my mother’s shrill voice for my friends. My mother put this letter in my trunk sometime before I left, but I only had the nerve to open it before dinner. The others howled with laughter. I laughed along with them, but I was furious. The letter went on for another page.

My mother went on to suggest that I take Bridget Addams. My friends found this to be extremely hilarious. Addams wasn’t exactly a friend of ours. In fact, she was a bit of a bitch. And by _a bit_ , I mean a lot, especially to James. Their feud started in first year when she snubbed him. I didn’t realize he was a pure-blood then, and when I learned, I was shocked.  James hated Addams because she was a snob, and Bridget hated James because he was a _blood-traitor_.

When it came to me, Addams was cold and distant. I don’t blame her; I was an ass to her. The childhood innocence that held out friendship together was gone, like our friendship. During holiday parties, though, she was tolerable for a while, especially since Andy quit coming around.

“Sirius, don’t take Addams. It’ll break poor Regulus’ little heart!” James laughed out.

That was another thing. Regulus was mad for Addams. Regulus got so nervous around her, stuttering all the time and flushed. I know she noticed it, but she ignored it instead. You should have seen the way he stared at her. It would have cracked you up; it cracked me up.

I scoffed with mock snootiness. “No, no, no. Old Lucius will curse me into oblivion!” I said, acting very dramatic.

That, too, was a thing. Addams was crazy for Lucius Malfoy. He was one of the adults she respected, besides her brother. I’m sure she respected some adults, but she had worshipped Lucius for years now. If he asked her to bend over backwards over an open flame, she would’ve done it before a heartbeat. 

My letter reading went on for the rest of the night. All fury I had dissolved as we joked before the first day of our fourth year.

* * *

We had Double Potions first thing and with the Slytherins. It would not have been horrible as long as James didn’t want to sit near Lily, who would partner with Snape. Severus Snape, aka Snivellus, hated us more than anyone. He had no reason to, except for James’ crush on Lily. They were romantic rivals in a way, like how Regulus and Lucius were rivals.

Old Slughorn was a pretty relaxed teacher, but it turned out her did have some backbone after all. He stared at the class, a look of disappointment on his face. “This will never do. I should know how you all work with your friends. Up, up.” He ushered us to stand up, gather our stuff, and wait at the front of the room.

Slughorn pointed to each seat and gave it a name. I prayed not to work with Snape. When his name was called, I was scared my name would be next. I was relieved it wasn’t my name that was called, but I realized it was Remus’. James, who was seated with Evans, choked on his laughter. I gave Remus a look of sympathy, but he glared at the ground.

“Sirius Black.” Slughorn pointed to the seat in the back corner. James was on the other side of the room. Remus was in the middle. Peter was in the front. Slughorn made sure to separate us. “Bridget Addams.” Slughorn pointed to my partner seat. Addams looked like she heard him wrong before dragging herself to our desk.

Addams didn’t look at me for a long time. She just sat there. Everyone else was getting ingredients for their potion, but Addams was just sitting there. Finally, when I got up, she got up. Then, she sat back down and opened the book. At last, she went to the storage room to get the ingredients.

Needless to say, she didn’t talk to me for most of the class. It was relaxing; I didn’t need her screaming at me. If Addams and I were to talk, we would end up arguing. I suppose it was good we didn’t start off on the wrong foot that year. When Addams did open her mouth, her voice was calm.

“I think we did the potion right.” Addams stated while stirring the potion.

I thought it was weird that she talking to me so casually. “Yeah, I think we did,” I said, not knowing how to respond to her niceness.

Slughorn came around, checking the potions. We were last to be inspected. “Hm, perhaps I made a good choice putting you two together,” he mumbled before going back to the front of the class. “Before I dismiss you all, I would like you to know that these seat changes are permanent. Good day!”

Addams rushed out of the class without another word to me, nearly running into James. She was being really weird today. Instead of being a bitch, she was quiet, calm, and dare I say, nice. James also threw out some sarcasm to her, but she just ignored it.

“That was strange. Addams didn’t even call me a blood-traitor today.” James said as we walked out with Remus and Peter.

“She was rather quiet today. What did you do to her, Sirius?” Remus asked as we made our way out of the dungeons.

“I didn’t do anything to her!” I said defensively. “She was just in shock, I guess. We haven’t actually had a conversation since the end of first year.” I didn’t mean to say that last part; it just slipped out. It was true, though. _Small talk at parties doesn’t count._

__

This year was going to be interesting, to say the least. Girls were different creatures now. The Yule Ball was coming up. I also had to see Addams on a regular basis. What the hell was I going to do?

 

_** A/N: Hello, again, lovelies! I hoped you enjoyed this fourth chapter of Enigma!! I know I enjoyed writing it. I just hope Sirius and Bridget don’t murder each other before chapter five. Remember, I love reviews.  ** _

 


	5. The Ability to be Nice

** The Ability to be Nice **

****

“Black, stop! You’re doing it wrong! You have to crush the beetles, not cut them!”

“If you’re not happy with my crushing skills, go do it yourself.”

“I would, but Slughorn is forcing us to work together until the end of time!”

That was what a normal Potions class consisted of, but not right off. First, Addams and I would do it calmly and separately. We would split the directions in half and hope for the best. Later on in the term, though, once we got over the working separately idea, Addams would find something wrong with my way of doing things. The excuse would change each time, but she would always yell and nag at me. We would always figure things out, in the end.

One day, though, I didn’t get screamed at. It freaked me out, reminding me of the first day. I think I was more curious by Addams’ calm demeanor, though. Out of blue, she asked, “So you and McKinnon are going out?” She asked it as if it were my favorite color.

I had to think about it for a while. Marlene and I snogged a lot, but never did we have a real date. We haven’t actually talked about where our snogging was going, either. I thought about it and said, “Not really.”

Addams had a thoughtful look on her face before letting out a cold, bitter laugh. It creeped me out.  “I heard some pretty bad things about her, you know.”

If Addams was attempting to gossip, she was horrible at it. Her roommates were whistleblowers if I ever met any. They started and spread any piece of news that came their way, though. Even when it came to snobs, Addams wasn’t drawn into all the drama. She was just oblivious.

“You’re really bad at gossiping, you know.” I told her as we prepared to mix the potion. “And I know what you heard. It’s not true. I would know.” I looked to Marlene; Peter was driving her insane.

Marlene and Addams were different; I see that now. Marlene wasn’t distant from people when something went wrong. She kept up with everyone. Also, Marlene didn’t worship a pompous git as a god. There was also a sense of realness to Marlene that I couldn’t ignore.

“Are you going to the Yule Ball with her?” Addams asked, breaking me out of my trance. Did Addams know about my mother’s suggestion? Her mother and my mother were friends, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they set the whole thing up together. The thought of that sickened me.

“Are you okay?” Addams asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She gave me a weird look, which may have been a concerned one.

I nodded, only half sure of myself. Why did Addams care so much? Usually, she pretended like I didn’t exist. She was also being friendly. I knew something was up with her, but I didn’t know what. From across the room, Drusilla Yaxley started to crack up while looking out way. Addams looked furious. I couldn’t take it.

“What are you planning?” I demanded. If Addams wanted to do this, then she was out of luck. 

She looked confused. “What’re you talking about?” Still, she was strangely calm, despite her brief moment of anger.

“Why are you being so calm and nice to me all of the sudden? And why did Drew just start laughing her ass off?” I was nearly shouting at her by then.

“Um, Drew is weird and crazy. And I’m not allowed to be nice?” Now she was getting mad at me. It was about time.

The smart thing to do was to ignore her and finish the potion. I was a smart guy; there was no doubting that. I just made really stupid choices. Like a fool, I said, “No.”

That was the worst mistake I ever made in a Potions class. Addams, with the vial of God-knows-what-potion in hand, looked livid. For a good minute, I thought she was going to throw the potion in my face. I was actually scared of her at that moment.

Before anything could happen, Slughorn scurried over. He asked how our potion was going, as if there wasn’t about to be a conflict between my Potions partner and I. As Slughorn examined out potion, Addams and I just glared at each other from opposite sides of the table.

By the end of class, we had cooled down. Addams refused to talk to me, but there was no potion-throwing. When Slughorn dismissed us, she stomped out of the classroom. Perhaps she wasn’t as cooled down as I thought she was.

When I met up with Remus on the way out, he looked concerned. I tried to ignore him as we met up with James and Peter. They looked just plain curious. I just ignored them by walking ahead. I knew how they would react, and I didn’t want to deal with it all. I don’t think I was as cooled down as I thought, either.

“Sirius! What the hell happened in there?” James finally asked me, breaking the awkward silence between us four. 

I turned around to face them. I could feel my rage wanting to take over. Screaming at them would help nothing, but it would at least calm me down. That’s not what I did, though. Instead, I sighed trying to calm myself down. “I told Addams that she wasn’t allowed to be nice,” I confessed to them, rather nonchalantly. My tone surprised me more that it surprised my friends.

They begged to know more about what happened, but I kept dodging answers. They didn’t need to know about my drama, but, being the gossips they were, they wanted to know anyway. Thankfully, they let it go, but only because we entered the Great Hall. Despite being noisy gossips and pranksters, we kept some things private.

*          *          *

A few days went by. During those few days, I asked Marlene to the Yule Ball. She said yes, obviously. McGonagall gave me detention because I caused her hair to turn bright orange. It was a complete mistake; I had meant to hit Mimi Greengrass with it instead.

At eight o’clock, I sat in the Transfiguration classroom, tipping back in my chair. As I waited for McGonagall, James and I talked to each other through our Two-Way Mirror pieces. He also had detention, but with Professor Kettleburn. James had caused a giant toad to turn into a giant tadpole while trying to impress Lily Evans. The door creaked open, and I stuck my mirror into my pocket. To my surprise, Addams walked in. It was weird because I thought she wasn’t the detention type.

McGonagall followed her in and ushered me up. She told us that we’d be serving detention with Filch. Both of us groaned. Filch _hated_ the students of Hogwarts. Everyone knew he was a Squib, but we weren’t supposed to know. McGonagall delivered us to Filch, and he told us we were to clean the trophy cases- the Muggle way. Filch knew we were both pure-bloods, and we had probably never cleaned anything without magic.

Filch, being the sadist he was, only allowed us to clean one case at a time. I saw a few familiar names as I polished some awards. My cousin Andromeda had her Head Girl badge in there. My uncle Alphard got an award for some Quidditch record. Some of Addams’ relatives were in here, as well. It felt like I was the only one in my family who _didn’t_ have any award of badge on display. I wonder if Addams felt the same way.

“Addams,” I started to ask her if she felt like a disappointment as well, but choked. She stared at me, waiting for me to get on with it. Instead, I asked, “How did you get detention?”

She rolled her eyes and groaned. “McGonagall said my skirt was too short the other day. It wasn’t that short, but she _insisted_ on giving me detention,” Addams explained. I looked at her skirt, but she caught me and scolded me. She said it was a different skirt.

After that, Addams didn’t bother to talk to me, but for some strange reason, I wanted to talk to her. I was still guilty about the other day in Potions. Every time I tried to ask her something, she shushed me. Once, though, she just ignored me. Addams was staring at a picture of her brother, Jack Addams, and the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. For a brief moment, I could have sworn Addams looked a bit envious, but she quickly hid it. That’s the kind of person she was back then: The charming girl who had no problems.

When we got to the last case, it was probably around nine-thirty. Filch had dozed off a few times, and whenever he came to, he was convinced someone had ditched. It took us awhile to convince him otherwise.  He still wasn’t convinced that no one had left, that it was just Addams and me, but let it go with a grumble.

“I asked Marlene to the Yule Ball,” I blurted out as we polished a huge trophy together. I don’t know why I said it, but I think it was to get one-up on her.

Addams couldn’t look less interested; I was a bit crestfallen. “So you took my advice after all,” She said. It wasn’t a question, just a puzzling statement. She gave me no advice; she just yelled at me all the time.

Before I could deny that she gave me any advice, Filch let us go. Addams cleared out as fast as she could. I racked my brain as I walked up to the common room. Did she really give me advice between all out shouting matches? If she did, why did she give it at the most bizarre times? I scoffed as I entered the common room. Why the hell was I spending so much time trying to decode a snob named Bridget Addams?

 

** A/N: Not much action here, except some interaction between Bridget and Sirius. I don’t think they like each other too much if you ask me. Anyway, thank you for reading so far and if it’s not too much to ask, REVIEW!!!!!!!!! I do look at the Stats page… :) **

 


	6. The Yule Ball

  


**The Yule Ball  
**

****

November was coming to an end, and winter was starting. Whenever winter came, so did the end of term and, this year, the Yule Ball. The Yule Ball only happened once every four years. If you were under 4th year when it came, it would come again when you were old enough. It was always at the end of the first term. The teachers took it upon themselves to teach the students how to dance, which was the worst part about it.  


McGonagall taught the boys how to dance while Slughorn taught the girls. It was horrible. McGonagall had this old record player from the medieval times. The thing was so old that I thought the record was of static and not music. It was better than classes, though.  


“Black, come here.” McGonagall ushered me up, and with a flick of her wand, the static music started. “Show the class what you learned,” She said as she got into position.   


I nearly gagged.  The others laughed. Slowly, I joined her in a slow dance. There were wolf-howls from the other guys, but I tried to ignore them. I was the best dancer there, unlike those jackals. McGonagall and I stopped dancing, and she sat me back down.  


“Now, if all of you were paying attention instead of howling, then you’d all be as good as Black,” McGonagall scolded the class. I felt proud. McGonagall usually scolded me, but to get praised by her was fulfilling in a bizarre way.  


My mom took the pleasure of buying me the most disgusting pair of robes ever. I cringed when I first saw them. They were a gross olive green color with brass fastenings and cuff links. The hems were trimmed with brown lace. It looked like the dress my great, great aunt Belvina wore when she died. I grimaced at the thought of them being one in the same.  


Marlene was about to kill me when she saw my robes. She said she wouldn’t be seen with me if I wore it. I’d be dateless if I didn’t get a new set of robes, according to Marlene. It really wasn’t a big deal, at first, but then everyone freaked out.  


Speaking of freaking out, James was doing the extreme version of it. Out of all four Marauders, he was the only one without a date. Even _Peter_ found a date before James did. James’s original plan was to ask Evans until she cracked and said yes. The problem was, Lily was going with Snivellus. James was so confident Lily would say yes, he didn’t get a fall-back plan.  


As his wing man, though, I took the duty of finding him a date. First, I asked all the girls in our house; they had dates. Then I went to the girls I knew; they refused to go with him, date or not. I was pretty sure every girl in the school had a date by then since it was a mere four days prior. Finally, my break came.  


Three days before the Yule Ball, Gloria Addams came up to me at the moving staircases. Gloria Addams was the elder Addams sister, and she was in her seventh year. She was also known as a whore, but that’s not the point. “I heard Potter needs a date,” Gloria said to me.  


I couldn’t believe my ears. Was Gloria offering herself up to be James’s date? I nodded cautiously, still not believing her.  


“Good. I’m under no obligation to stay and dance with him the whole night, “ She demanded from me.  


I shook my head. “At least one dance.” If she was going to bargain, so was I.  


Gloria nodded. “Reasonable. He does not have the right or privilege to kiss, hold, and or grope me.” Were the rumors of her looseness true?  


I shook my head again. “Wouldn’t even dream of it.”  


She smirked. “I do not want to hear rumors about me and Potter, so you and your Marauders shut your mouth. Or else.”  


I didn’t doubt her threat, so I nodded. “Our lips are sealed, Gloria.”  


Gloria seemed satisfied enough. “Make sure his robes are neutral colors. Nothing bright, trashy, or clashing. Nothing like those robes you got, either.”   


How many goddamn demands did she have? “I’ll make sure of it.” I put on my businessman smile.  


At last, she smiled and nodded. “Good. Have Potter meet me at the top of the stairs by the Great Hall at seven PM. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Sirius.” With that she left, switching to a downward staircase.  


Shaking my head, I ran to the common room. I couldn’t believe I got James a date with Gloria Addams. When I got to the common room, James was moping in front of the fire place as Peter and Remus did last minute homework. He looked lonely as hell. It was depressing me. All he was doing was staring at the fireplace as if he was contemplating about sticking his head in it. I started to feel bad; I found his depression really funny. I moved in front of his view of the fire place.  


“Hey, Sirius,” James said, stooping further down the armchair. It killed me.  


“Guess who got you a date,” I said simply, putting my hands on my hips. _Do guys even have hips?_  


James, along with Remus and Peter, perked up. “Who?” They said in unison.  


I smiled as I sat down on the rug in front of them.   “Gloria Addams.”  


They blanched. They were in as much disbelief as I was a few minutes ago. James started to splutter, so Remus took care of the questions. “When?”  


“About five minutes ago.” I shrugged.  


James started to stutter again, so Remus asked, “Why?”  


I shrugged again. “Who knows why? Probably to make some guy jealous.”  


When James heard that, he smirked. He was probably imagining himself making Lily jealous. Finally, he recovered.  “What’s the catch?” When I explained Gloria’s conditions, he jumped and yelled for joy.   


Two days before the Yule Ball, I was pretty sure I was going to be dateless. I wrote to Dad a few days before, telling him of my robes situation. Luckily, he sent over a new tuxedo-type robe. It was simple black and grey, which was better than matching great, great dead Aunt Belvina. Besides, I already gave the old pair back to Mum.  


Speaking of dates, I didn’t know who Remus was taking. I knew he had a date, but who the hell was it? Every time I asked him, he evaded the question. He said that it was a surprise.  


*          *          *  


It was finally the night of the Yule Ball. Everything had fallen into place beforehand. Remus, James, Peter, and I waited at the top of the stairs for out dates. Peter’s date came first. I think her name was Eleanor or something; she looked like a chipmunk in teal. Gloria soon came for James, and she was impressed that he was there first. As they left, he grinned at us, pleased of his siren of red. Marlene was next to come. She looked good in blue.  


“Remus, are you sure you don’t want us to wait with you?” I asked as Marlene was trying to take my arm to the ball. I took it away from her, and she started to tap her foot impatiently.  


Remus shook his head and laughed. “No, thank you, Sirius. Go have fun,” He said, nodding towards the Great Hall.  


I shrugged as I straightened out my jacket. “Okay, then. Your date better be amazing if she’s making you wait this long,” I said as Marlene and I made our way downstairs. Little did I know.  


Inside, the Great Hall didn’t look anything like itself. The walls were a light blue color; the floor was white. Frost touched the windows and made it look like a thousand little crystals were placed carefully on each window. Flocked Christmas trees, decorated with metallic ordainments, were placed in the corners. Round, sliver tables were set up against the walls. Above us, hundreds of snowflakes floated below the snowing sky. Music seemed to have played from nowhere. It was wonderful.  


Marlene pulled me to the dance floor, where many of the couples were. The song wasn’t slow, but not too fast. We had fun, twisting and turning. When I looked to one of the tables, James was trying to get Gloria to dance. She looked bored to death. From across the room, Lily was fixated on them while Snivellus glared. I laughed.  


Marlene and I were half way through a slow song when she stopped. She was staring at the entrance, mouth opened wide. “Is that…no, it can’t,” She mumbled.  


Quite a few people were now staring at the entrance. Even James stopped pestering Gloria to gawk. I turned around, and I instantly knew why people were staring. Remus and his date were here. “Bridget Addams…?” I whispered.  


I wasn’t even sure it was her, to be honest. For once, she wasn’t awkward as hell. Recently, since second year, Addams wasn’t her phony, charming self, just awkwardly awkward. That night, at the Yule Ball, all of her charm seemed to rush back to her. Not to mention, she looked amazing!  


As the shock died, people started dancing again, but whispers were still floating around like the snowflakes. I just stared at Addams, though. Her plum-colored dress was decorated with tiny silver crystals that shined in the candle light. Addams and Remus made their way towards us, and I noticed that her dress was also corseted in the back that stopped right above the knees. Her mousy brown hair was now a dark brown with a tint of purple. Was her hair always curly?  


I started to feel dizzy before I realized that Marlene and I were dancing. She must have noticed that I was staring at Addams, who was now dancing with Remus. As she danced, I caught a glimpse of a sparkly grey petticoat. Marlene started pulling me to the table where James and Gloria sat.  


“I can’t believe her!” Gloria growled out at we sat down.  


James rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe _him_!” He said in disbelief. “Why is Remus here with her, Sirius? Why!?”   


I let out an awkward laugh. “I don’t know. Umm…” I glanced at Marlene and Gloria, who both sat right next to me. No matter the answer, I’d loose. If I said something decent about Addams, Marlene would kill me. If I said something bad about her, Gloria would kill me. There was no winning.  


When Remus came to the table, he was dateless. Addams was at the other end of the Great Hall, gushing with her friends. Before he even got to the table, James demanded to know why he was here with Addams. Before Remus could answer, Gloria excused herself and made her way to her younger sister. We all stared at them as they had a bit of a row, but we were unable to hear them. James got our attention back when he, again, asked Remus why he was her with Addams.  


“I asked her to be my date, and she said yes,” Remus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  


James rant was cut off in its tracks when Peter came over with his date. He asked us if we saw how great Addams looked. James nearly lost his temper. “Of course she looks great! She’s a snob. Snobs always look great!” He shouted before stomping over to Gloria, now making googley eyes at Walden Macnair. A minute later, they, James and Gloria, were on the dance floor. They were getting James’s one dance over with.  


The rest of us say in an awkward silence until Addams came over to our table. Remus greeted her with a smile, and she smiled back before greeting the rest of us with a friends ‘hi.’ I tried not to look at her; she was too damn charming. Addams made small talk with Marlene and Eleanor, talking about dresses, accessories, and shoes.  


“I like your shoes. Where’d you get them?” Marlene asked, trying to be civil.  


I looked down at Addams’s feet. Her shoes were silver high heels covered in small, glass baubles. The light bounced off of them, making the baubles look like a sparkly silver. I was mesmerized by them, and I don’t give a damn about women’s shoes!  


Addams chuckled and moved her feet to show off the sparkly shoes. “Grandfather Addams made them for me. He said they’ll only let me wear them, whatever that means.” She let out that pretentious fake laugh that all snobs do. How I hated that laugh.  


The pretentious behavior of Bridget Addams made the air uncomfortable. We all looked around awkwardly. The air softened when Lily Evans came over. She looked a bit frustrated, and Snape wasn’t with her. Thank goodness, too. I didn’t need two Slytherins within hexing distance of me.  


“Why is Potter with that…that harpy!?” she said, some of her anger spilling out. Remus, Peter, and I were surprised. We thought she hated James.  


“I thought you hated James, Lily. Why do you care if he’s here with someone like Gloria Addams?” Marlene asked, voicing our question. It was natural for her to ask.  


Lily was dumbstruck. She looked as if Marlene had hit her with a Stunning Spell. “I don’t! No! She’s just a two-faced, lying slag who will only hurt him in the end!” she ranted before looking over to Bridget. Ladies and gentlemen- the red-woolen sheep! “Oh, hi, Bridget! I didn’t realize that you were here…” She trailed off.  


Bridget waved her off. “No, please continue! Gloria may be my sister, but she is a harpy. Besides, she’s only here with Potter to make Macnair jealous. I told her it wouldn’t work, but it did.” She shrugged. That explained why Gloria had so many regulations. She wanted to make a point. I couldn’t see why James would make Macnair jealous, though. It didn’t add up.  


“Apparently Macnair called her a whore awhile back. She told me if he thought she was a whore, then she’d prove it. At least she didn’t grovel,” Bridget explained casually. _Bingo!_ It started to make sense- if you were an Addams. _Addams is better at gossiping than I thought._  


When James started heading over, Lily scurried away and Remus went off to dance with Addams. James didn’t know whether to gawk at Lily or glare at Remus, so he settled for sitting down. “I’m tired,” he mumbled. “I had to pry Gloria away from Macnair, who can swallow me whole if he tried.”  


Just as I was about to comfort James, Marlene dragged me away to the dance floor. She seemed rather annoyed. As we danced, I saw Marlene sending death glares at Addams. Addams was completely oblivious to them as she danced with Remus. I swallowed back the lump in my throat, and I tried to concentrate on Marlene. _Just keep dancing.  
_

__

Someone nudged me, and it was James. He and Gloria were dancing for the second time. He looked as happy as a clown. “And you know, Macnair’s a bear. Big, clumsy, hairy, and not too bright. Me? I’m personally a stag: Strong, agile, and smart.” I heard James tell her. I nearly laughed at his analogy. He just let out our secret of trying to become full-fledged Animagi.  


“You know, Sirius, this night has been fun despite its complications.” Marlene said as we almost finished our dance.   


I laughed nervously. “Yeah. It was fun for me, too.” I said. It wasn’t too bad, but it certainly wasn’t a night I’d want to forget.   


*          *          *  


By the end of the night, we had all taken pictures with each other and our dates. Lily came up to James, told him he cleaned up nicely, and scurried away. I got to make out with Marlene. Peter got to feel up his date, even if it was an accident. Remus and Addams stepped out for a bit, so anything could have happened. We all sat down on the stairs outside the Great Hall. Our bow-ties were undone; our shirts were untucked. We sipped our Butterbeers as people made their way out.   


For the second time that night, all four of us were dateless. Marlene went upstairs with her roommates. Peter’s date went to the Ravenclaw common room. Both Addams girls were inside. They came out together, along with Macnair.  The girls made their way over to us, and Remus and James stood up.  


“Thanks, Potter. I actually had fun tonight. My fiancé didn’t care much for tonight, though.” Gloria laughed, gesturing to Macnair. He looked as happy as a corpse.  


James stuttered, wide-eyed. “M-m-macnair is your…f-fiancé?! Since when?!” he asked, looking shocked, scared, and terrified.  


Gloria shrugged as if having a fiancé at seventeen was no big deal. “Since last summer. We’re having our official announcement party in June. Don’t worry; you don’t have to accompany me to that.” She laughed before kissing James on the cheek. “See you around, Potter.” After that, she and Macnair walked to the Slytherin common room, arms locked.  


Bridget Addams stood there in front of Remus. “Um, thanks, Remus. I’ll send you the picture when they come.”  


Remus smiled. “Thank you, Bridget. Tonight was wonderful. Goodnight.” He waved goodbye to her as she headed downstairs.  


We were all standing up by then, so we headed upstairs. “So, do you think I have a chanced with Gloria?” James asked us.  


I scoffed. “As much as a chance as I have with Rosmerta from the Three Broomsticks.”  



	7. The Christmas Party- 1973

The Christmas Party- 1973

Christmas time means a lot of things to many people. Usually, it means a big evergreen tree, colorfully wrapped presents, cookie making, writing a list for a fat guy in red, and joy. There was also singing at random people’s doors, fruit cakes as hard as rocks, and unwrapping gifts in a joyous frenzy. Sometimes, it meant gift shopping. Not in my family, though. We had decorations and half-hearted gifts; that was the extent of our joy on Christmas day. In the days leading up to Christmas in 1973, my mother worked everyone like dogs, no pun intended. She made us clean the house at least twice a day, put up decorations, and then put them up in different places. Poor Kreacher, I know right, got the worst of her wrath, besides me. If one snowman was out of place, she’d yell at him for about an hour. I always tried to avoid her during the holidays, but she refused to let me out of the house before Christmas. When I look back to those years under a tyrannical thumb, the only thing that kept me going were letters from my friends. James invited me over to his place, even though we both knew it was a lost cause. Remus kept trying to suggest that I make peace with Walburga, but stopped after I sent him a dung bomb. Peter suggested that I run away and live like a hippie. For once, he made a valid suggestion, but I didn’t have the nerve then. Dad wasn’t much help during the winter holidays. Despite his efforts to calm my mother down, he often failed. He carried around a flask of fire whiskey with him. I envied him; I would have used a few sips from that flask. One day, one of his plans almost worked. * * * It was the day before our Christmas party. (A few generations ago, the three big pureblood families, Addams, Black, and Malfoy, rotated the annual Christmas party around. Occasionally, one of the other families would host, but that was under extreme circumstances. Anyway, that year was our year.) 4 Grimmauld Place was about to explode with Christmas cheer. “Sirius! Sirius! Come here!” Dad whispered loudly from the living room. I was making my way upstairs from the kitchen. He was mixing a drink. I sighed before dragging my feet over to him. “What?” I said, not bothering to whisper. He looked around before handing me the drink. “Give this to your mother. It has a Sleeping Potion in it. She’ll be knocked out ‘till morning!” he said excitedly. “The thing is, she doesn’t trust me.” I think he had too much to drink himself at that point. “Are you mad? What makes you think she trust me?” I said in a panicked whisper. He looked thoughtfully for a moment. “Well, Kreacher could do it, but he’d rat us out. He hears all. Go, give this to Regulus, but don’t tell him about the potion.” Dad tapped his nose before shooing me upstairs with the drink. I shook my head before heading back upstairs. When I got to Regulus’s room, I knocked on his door. “Hey, open up,” I said when I got no reply. I heard rustling from inside, not wanting to know what he was doing. I waited for a minute before he opened the door. “Yes?” he asked. I knew he was up to something, but I let him be. “Give this to Mum. It’s from Dad,” I said, giving him the drink. Looking inside his room, I saw a hastily wrapped gift on his bed. “Who’s that for?” Regulus looked to the gift and turned red. He began to shake his head. “It’s for no one.” Curious, I went into his room, despite his efforts to keep me out. I picked up the sloppily wrapped present. He actually tried, I thought. As I inspected it, a small card fell out of it. Regulus was frozen with shock until I bent over to get it. He shoved me while trying to get it back from me. I scanned the note. That piece of parchment nearly killed me. Regulus had written a poem that confessed his love to Bridget Addams. I would have read it out loud, but I was laughing too hard. It was horrible, but I couldn’t stop laughing. If Addams didn’t know about his secret love for her, she definitely would have known about it if her eyes ever caught sight of that note. “Are you done, Sirius?” Regulus asked, putting his note back on the bed. During my laughing fit, he managed to grab it from me. I wiped my eyes; they started to water from all my laughing. After taking a few deep breaths, I managed to calm myself down. “I’m done,” I started, “but you aren’t really giving that to her?” Regulus shifted uncomfortably for a minute. “What’s wrong with it? It took me an hour to write that,” he said. I shook my head. He was hopeless. “You have to be subtle. With this sappy poem, you’re more obvious than a unicorn in a herd of mules,” I told him, putting on my big brother pants. He was listening to my advice like I was some prophet. “Well, what do I write to her then?” “No, you won’t write anything since you’ll be giving to her in person. You can give it to her at the Christmas party,” I suggested to him. He looked mortified at the thought of giving Addams a gift in person. “I can barely talk to her! How am I going to give this to her in person?” He sighed before sitting on the bed. “You just have to play it cool. Do it nonchalantly,” I told him before heading out. “What did you get Addams anyway?” I asked, stepping out the door. Regulus shrugged. “Nothing. Just a little gift,” he said, rather nonchalantly. I grinned; I felt proud to be a big brother. When I got downstairs, Dad was pacing in the living room. “Well, how’d it go?” He asked when he noticed me. I shook my head. “It didn’t. Regulus dropped it when he tried to get his poem from me.” Dad looked confused, but it faded. “I tried, son. Remember that, Sirius. No matter how horrible things get around her, I always tried to calm it down,” he said thoughtfully. It was my turn to be confused. I didn’t say anything then, but I still think about that piece of advice. I especially remembered it a year later. * * * James, Number 12, Grimmauld Place is the most decorated house in London for the holidays, but it is the least festive. The shrill voice of my mother is voice than tone-deaf carolers. We’re having a Christmas Party for rich pure bloods- you should come! You’d probably be hexed into oblivion before making it to the kitchen. It won’t be too bad, though, Jack Addams, Addams’s older brother, will be there. He’s cool. If worst comes to me, I’ll just talk about the weather with Addams. She’ll have to put on her phony charm for that night and being a complete and utter sore to the hostess’s son is not lady like. Merlin, I’m going to die. Pass this letter on to Remus and Peter for me- too many owls are illegal here. Tell your family I wish them a happy Christmas. -Sirius I sent that to James the morning of our –my mother’s- Christmas party, which was on Christmas Eve. If he responded that day, I wouldn’t have known. From the moment she woke up, if she even went to sleep, Mum was getting everyone in the house ready for that evening. She started with Dad. She made him make sure his robes fit properly, pick up the food from the market, and make sure he was out of her way until she called. Kreacher was to cook, clean, and cater to the guest later on. When Mum got to Regulus and me, we had to put on out monkey suits and model them for her. I was forced to wear my Yule Ball suit, and Regulus had great-great-aunt Belvina’s outfit. Mum had it fitted for him since I refused to touch it. We were to be civil gentlemen. She was talking more to me. Eventually, the evening came, and the select families who were invited came along with it. Despite how big made Grimmauld Place be, Mum always made it seem stuffy and closed up. Like a prison, I thought. Everyone didn’t notice, or were too polite to mention it to my mother. They probably figure they’d end up like the previous house elves. Everyone was crowded around in a room, drinks in hand. They wore stuffy black robes or square neck dresses. I looked at my own black suit. Suddenly, I felt out of place. I was trying to look like a snob, but if I spoke, I’d be discovered as not one of them. Whatever, I thought, why should I care if I don’t fit in with snobs? Why should I care if I’m not the perfect son? That’s what Regulus is for. I know I was being bitter about everything, but I thought I had every right to be. In the midst of snobs, a blur of violet and silver shot up. It surprised me. I thought rich snobs never wore the same outfit twice. A few other guests glanced her way, but none of them continued to stare at her as I did. Her hair was pinned up so it hung at the base of her neck and shoulders, instead of dangling loosely down her back. I was right about her; she was becoming more comfortable with herself. “If you keep staring at my sister like that, I’m going to have to rip your eyes out,” I heard from my right. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jack Addams. He was leaning against the wall, as was I, and he was looking at his sister, as was I. I felt flustered by his accusation. I was embarrassed, but not because he thought I was staring at Addams like that. I was embarrassed because I got caught. I didn’t want him to know that, though. He laughed as I tried to rebuke him. “Don’t worry. I know you’re not that kind of guy, Sirius,” he said to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. Jack let go, and he leaned back against the wall. God, he was cool. I sometimes wished he was my brother. If that was how older brother were suppose to act, did that mean I was a horrible brother? I looked around for Regulus and found him talking with Addams. He was giving her his gift. Regulus appeared to look aloof, and he left her after some small talk. I nodded in satisfaction. My brother didn’t make a fool of himself in front of the girl of his dreams. As the night went on, Grimmauld Place got stuffier. I thought the kitchen would be less crowded, so I headed there. My mother intercepted me, though. She pulled me over to her and her circle of friends. Mum was wearing her phony smile. That meant she wanted to prove to everyone that I wasn’t a complete failure. “Sirius, you haven’t told me anything about the Yule Ball,” Mum said, putting up a nice façade. She really meant to say, “If you screw up, you are going to be an embarrassment to the whole family.” Mum wasn’t a woman to be taken lightly, so I decided to humor her. “Oh, that. It was amazing. The Great Hall looked like the first snow does: innocent, pure, and timeless. And the food wasn’t too bad, either,” I said, trying to impress these broads, two of which who were Mrs. Addams and Aunt Druella. They laughed at my food joke. I was about to leave when one of the broads asked, “Who was your date?” It was a simple question, but it petrified me. That was why I hadn’t told my mother about the Yule Ball. I looked at all the women, who seemed to be waiting for my answer. Only Mrs. Addams caught my apprehension because she summoned her youngest daughter over. “Bridget, Sirius was just telling us about the Yule Ball.” Addams looked at me, and I silently pleaded with her. “Oh yes! It was amazing! The music was heavenly! It felt like I was dancing on a cloud,” she described to the ladies. They found her description better than mine. Then my aunt dropped a bombshell. “So you two went together?” Addams and I looked at each other. We both knew that if we told them who we really went with, we’d be in hot water. “Yeah, we did,” Addams told them. She then told them how much of a gentleman I was. I told them she was a doll. It was for the sake of our mothers. “Sirius, don’t you have somewhere else to be?” Mum said, finished with me. That was my cue to leave, and I didn’t waste it. I continued to walk to the kitchen, relieve that my presentation was over, or so I thought. When I got into the kitchen, I wanted to run. My two cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa, were talking with Gloria Addams. They spotted me, and I knew I had nowhere to run. Hopefully, I could ignore them and get a butterbeer. The plan seemed to be working perfectly until my so-called-date came in. “You owe me, Black. Big time,” she said dangerously slow. Addams seemed unaware of our company. “And I don’t mean doing a Transfiguration essay for me. No, this is huge. This is s-,” she stopped short. “Serious?” I offered her, taking the top off of my butterbeer. I, too, seemed to forget about our spectators. Addams rolled her eyes at me before sitting on an empty space of counter. Her sister scolded her, but Addams didn’t care. She was only content with glaring at me. Bellatrix sauntered over to me and put her arm around my shoulder. I shivered at her touch. “Why do you owe Bridget Addams so much?” Her words slithered out of her like a snake. They were cold, slimy, and possibly, toxic. I shrugged out of her grip. “I had to pretend to be his date from the Yule Ball,” Addams said, still glaring at me. I don’t think she even blinked. I rolled my eyes. “Like I really asked you to,” I sarcastically said. Sure, I silently begged her to, but it’s not like I sought her out before hand. Then I remembered something. “What’s going on between you and Remus anyway?” Before she could answer me, her older brother stormed in. Jack looked pissed off, and he rarely got mad. “Hey-,” he started to say, but Narcissa interrupted him. “Hey, Jack. Long time no see. How goes it?” she asked. Narcissa started to twirl her long, blonde hair at that point. Jack brushed her off, though. He was seemingly oblivious to her flirting. “Hi, Narcissa. Yeah, you too. It’s fine. I just came here to tell you I’m leaving,” he said; the last part wast to his younger sisters. “Goodbye, Jack. It was nice seeing you!” Narcissa said, dragging Bellatrix with her. I felt myself relax at that point. When he knew they were gone, Jack let out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t deal with this anymore. I’m just going to say a few quick goodbyes and I’ll Disapparate out,” Jack said, a tad calmer. I felt awkward watching this sibling conversation, but it was my kitchen. It would also be worse out there with my mother. “Why? What happened?” Gloria asked. Jack rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I just need to go before I punch someone,” he said, glancing quickly at his youngest sister. With that glance, I was sure he was talking about Lucius Malfoy, or just pureblood society in general. Addams shook her head. “Come on! If you leave, I’ll have to be with Mum and Dad all by myself on the way home!” she pleaded with him. “No way, Bridget! I can’t stay much longer. Why don’t you just Floo Powder out?” He bargained with her. Before she could argue, the kitchen door swung open. The swish-swash of expensive polyester pants tore us away from the matter of Jack’s departure and to the arrival of my Uncle Alphard. I often talk and rant about how terrible and insane my family was, but Uncle Alphard was my role model. He wasn’t tied down to one woman, slept until twelve in the afternoon, knew how to cook the Muggle way, and enjoyed pissing off my mother more than I did. He also had this sweet pad in Soho. Despite his passion for shiny polyester suits, Uncle Alphard had all my respect. Uncle Alphard stared at us in momentary and mock confusion before turning to me. “Sirius, I know your mother is a shrew, but why do you want to be in that family? They’re train wrecks!” He said, grinning at me. I grinned back and we quickly hugged. It was the Addams’s turn to be playfully tortured and poked at by my uncle. “Gloria, I hope you remember the first rule of life: never let a man pee on you,” Alphard said to the oldest Addams sister. She laughed, shaking her head as she left. Jack also laughed and went to shake Alphard’s hand. “If I tried to say something like that, she’d kill me,” he said as he quickly hugged my uncle. “It’d hate to leave right when the party is starting, but this place gives me the creeps.” “You and me both. Go, I don’t mind,” Uncle Alphard said. Jack thanked him before going out to the living room. I never saw him again that night. Addams coughed, and we both looked at her. The butterbeer I was drinking was now in her hands. She looked a bit sick, too. That’s when it hit me. The fact that I actually made her sick was funny. Uncle Alphard frowned at her. “I told you that you should quit smoking,” he said, shaking his head in mock disappointment. Addams frowned back. “I don’t smoke,” she said very casually. It was if he accused her of chewing gum or something. I frowned. Since when did Addams smoke, if she even did? I should’ve known first since we went to school together. We even sat together in Potions. My frown deepened. I realized that we were no longer friends. No, I realized that at the sorting, but I had no place in her life. I was just that hot guy from Potions. Uncle Alphard just kept talking with Addams, but I didn’t register any of it. My mind was too busy trying to find a reasonable explanation for me not being involved with Bridget Addams. We weren’t in the same house. We didn’t have mutual friends. We weren’t friends. We didn’t even like each other. Wait, that was a bit of a lie. She was kind of cool to chill with, unless she started to talk. * * * The Christmas Party ended around midnight when my mother started to slur due to too much egg nog. There weren’t many people left, but they left anyway. I don’t know how Addams got home, or how Regulus did when he gave her the gift. I went to bed at two A.M., dead tired and not caring about the world.


End file.
